Net security proves difficult task

BEIJING - To keep China from remaining one of the countries in the world most defenseless against hackers and cyber crimes, a leading Chinese Internet security expert pledged to establish a national administration charged with strengthening security in cyberspace.

China now has no single agency carrying that responsibility. The tasks of combating cyber crimes and maintaining Internet hardware are instead entrusted to at least three ministries.

Fang Binxing, 50, president of the Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told China Daily that the Ministry of Public Security is the agency in charge of cracking down on cyber crimes, while the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology oversees the construction of hardware used in the Internet industry.